Background:

Alex Gough came agonizingly close to making history at her third trip to the Olympic Winter Games in 2014 when she finished fourth in the women’s singles event. To compound the heartbreak, she and her teammates also finished fourth once again days later in the team relay event, which made its Olympic debut in Sochi, Russia.

While Gough was shut out of the Olympic medals, she is determined to reach her ultimate goal of standing on the podium in sport’s biggest stage. Over the last quadrennial, Alex has continued ripping up the international luge circuit where she is one of the top sliders in the world. After racing condensed seasons in the first two years after Sochi where she had balanced training and competition with engineering school at the University of Calgary, Alex was back on the team full time last year and has been a regular in the medal mix.

Alex made history when she became the first Canadian luge athlete to win a World Cup race when she accomplished the feat in Paramonovo, Russia. Her victory ended the German’s 105-consecutive winning streak on the World Cup. She added another golden chapter to the history books when she became the first Canadian to win a Luge World Cup on home ice when she slid to the top step of the podium in Calgary in 2012. Gough has done nearly it all. She is also the first Canadian to win multiple World Championship and World Cup medals in the sport.

Five years ago she won her second bronze medal at the World Championships before joining her teammates in a silver-medal victory in the World Championship team relay. Gough and her Canadian mates also won bronze medals at the 2016 and 2015 World Championships in the relay event.

A graduate of Calgary's National Sport School, Alex discovered the sport when her mom signed her up for a recruitment camp at Canada Olympic Park, and is determined to continue progressing her way up the international rankings. Outside of luge, Alex enjoys reading, skiing, scuba diving, water sports, mountain biking, hiking and playing the guitar.